“Goooooooood morning, Beaumont!” he said at the elementary school in Vista last week.

As balloons swayed in the breeze around him, students cheered in response. Some were so excited that a few minutes later, their teacher asked them to burn off energy by running a lap before settling into class.

An observer might have guessed the campus was preparing for a big game or welcoming a celebrity. Martes had a different purpose: “Welcome to the final day of testing!” he exclaimed.

At Beaumont Elementary and K-12 schools across California, state-mandated standardized testing is a high-stakes affair reflected in all manner of preparations by teachers and administrators. The state and federal governments use these exams — which run from late April into May, depending on the district — to appraise schools. Substandard scores lead to low rankings, probation and possibly a forced takeover.

Each testing cycle can be grueling, typically lasting weeks, but the results have no effect on any individual student’s academic standing. That creates a challenge for educators: How can they get students to perform well and care about exams that could be seen as meaningless to them but are significant for an overall school?

Motivational assemblies and an assortment of incentives are common, including free breakfast and snacks for all students on testing days, prizes for children who show up on time during exam weeks (at Beaumont Elementary, it’s a chance to win passes to Disneyland) and medals for students who perform well.

It’s not all pizza days, ice cream parties and pep rallies.

Some schools teach younger students how to properly fill in bubbles on the testing forms, while others have older students complete trial exams meant to enhance test-taking skills. Some turn to technology in hopes of giving them more precise training, and some reach out to students’ parents, asking them to help keep their children healthy and focused on academics.

Test scores matter

Standardized exams are taken in grades 2 through 11 as part of the state’s Standardized Testing and Reporting program. Students’ performance on them becomes the basis for calculating a school’s Academic Performance Index score, or API, which incorporates all the test results each year into a number that ranges from 200 to 1000. The state goal for all schools is 800.

STAR program

•Each spring, students in California take a series of exams that are part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting program.

•The tests are for 2nd through 11th graders.

•They must be completed within 10 days before or after a district has reached 85 percent of its academic calendar.

•The program includes the California Standards Tests, the California Modified Assessment and the California Alternate Performance Assessment.

•Grade levels and their corresponding test subjects: 2nd through 11th for math and English-language arts; 4th and 7th for writing; 5th, 8th and 11th for science; and 9th through 11th for history and social sciences.

At Beaumont Elementary, where the API is 747 after a three-year drop in scores, Martes said the school staff is trying to focus on meeting state standards while elevating students’ spirits. This year, the effort led the school to adopt the Disney-Pixar movie “Up” as its theme — complete with the symbolism of uplifting balloons.